I’m putting together an air tank (11 gal) system for airbrushing similiar to what Seve Bamford did on the aircraft resource site did but I’m confused. Do you need a pressure regulator or an air regulator to adjust the air going to the airbrush? I picked up an air regulator (and the other hardware from my local Home Depot) but now re-reviewing Steve’s site I don’t know if I get the pressure regulator instead of the air regulator.
Any help would be appreciated.
A perplex Brucefromfairfax
If it’s something that goes between the tank and your airbrush and as you adjust it, you control the PSI that goes out, it’s the right thing. They could be the different terms for the same thing.
I think in general it calls Air Filter Regulator, don’t forget to complete it with pressure gauge. The thread will vary but commonly using 1/4" connector.
Explaining the difference between an air regulator (which is designed to control airflow - which is measured in Cubic Feet per Minute - CFM) and a pressure regulator which is designed to control air pressure (which is measured in Pounds per Square Inch - PSI) gets rather complicated.
Since I rather doubt that you intend to operate several high consumption air tools with your air compressor, you don’t really need to worry about what your CFM usage is. It doesn’t take a whole lot of CFM for an airbrush to work, so what you need to worry about is your air pressure which means a pressure regulator.
You don’t need to buy a large regulator, there are several different brands of mini regulators out there than be bought for $20 and up. And if you want, you can spend a few extra bucks and get a combination regulator/moisture seperator unit (which is what I recommend). And make sure that the guage in the unit reads in two pound increments. Most regulators come with guages that read up to 200 psi and are calibrated (marked) in 5 lb increments. For 5 to 10 bucks you can buy a guage which goes to 100 lbs and is marked in 2 lb increments. This lets you adjust the air pressure much more accurately and quicker.
Hope this helps a little - good luck
Qmiester - thanks for the info but I’m still confused since the air regulator guage is in PSI not CFM? Although looking at the adjustment knob it looks like a water shut off valve… Maybe i’ll give it a shot and if the airbrush doesn’t operate correctly, I’ll pick up a pressure reg.